Timer for toasters



June 25 1946. A. c. PURPURA TIMER FOR TOASTERS Filed Nov. 23 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 -:ZLILZI: .1:12:1:11

A. c. r-URPURA 2,402,576

TIMER FOR TOASTERS v FiledNov. '231942 June 25,l 1946,

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June z5, 194e TIMER FOR TOASTERS August C. Purpura, Chicago, lill. Application November 23, 1942, Serial No.. 466,539 (ci. ceases) 12 Claims. l

There have heretofore been many different kinds of timing devices for electric toasters, all of which have been open to the objection of being too costly, too complicated. structurally, too apt to get out of order or too uncertain in operation, or requiring too much attention on the part of the user for setting the same tosecure the desired results. The object of the present invention is to produce a' simple, novel, rugged timing device which is free from all the aforesaid faults and capable of operating effectively and eiliciently for the life or the toaster to which it is applied.

In carrying out my invention, I provide a dialing device on the order oi that commonly used on telephones; the movement ci this device by the user causing the toast holder to he loweredand locked in position and means to be set in operation to stop the toasting process, after a predetermined interval of time, Ydepending upon the angle through which the dial was originally turned. Since the length of the toasting period is determined by the angle through which the dialing device is turned by the user, the length oi each 'toasting period is determined without resnect to the length of the preceding period. lin other words, one piece oi" bread may oe toasted until it is dark, while the next' niece oi toast may Y be delivered while its color is light` without re quiring the user to do more than insert a finger in the proper hole in the dial in order to turn the latter and start a toasting process.

The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but. for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may he had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, where- 1n:

Figure l is a side elevation of a toaster equipped with my improved timing device, the housing being shown in section; Fig. 2 is an end view oi a fragment of the toaster, illustrating the dial. Fig. 3 is a section on linel 3 3 of Fig. l, the casing being omitted; Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the toaster, the casing or housing being shown in section; Fig. 5 is a section on line 5 5 of Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a plan view of a fragment of the bottom wall of the base, showing the automatic interrupter; and Fig. '7 is a diagram of connections.

Referring to the drawings, I represents any usual or suitable toasting construction which, in the arrangement shown, has two compartments 2 open atthe top. that receive slices of bread to be toasted. Mounted within this structure for vertical movements with respect thereto, and nrojecting somewhat from one end thereof, is atoast holder 3 of any usual or suitable construction. When otherwise unrestrained, the holder is held in the raised position illustrated in Figs, l. and 5.

i closed while theholder is down and which opens when the holder rises. l'n the arrangement shown, the stationary member ii.of the switchis mounted on top oi" the base t onwhicli the toast--- ing structure is supported. The movable mernher 'i of the switch is carried by a long arm or 'har o hinged at one end, as indicated at il, to a part ot the stationery .structure t i'or vertical swinging movements. The other end ot' the arm or har entends hevonti that end oi the toasting structure, which may be called the iront end, beyond which the toast holder nrotrndes. The iront end o the toast holder is provided with 7 a. little hraciret, in the form ot a plate i nrojecting; lateraliy therefrom on the which the aforesaid switch is located. 'lillois iii'aclret is provided with a ein il that extends through a vertically-elongated loon it at the uriner end ci a wire iii which is provided its lower end with another, shorter loon iii that surrounds lug or finger i@ projecting inwardiy .troni the iiee end or the switch ann. .a spring il, leest shown in Fig. l, tends constantly to hold the main switch closed. With the construction just described, the switch is held closed by its own shrine and not iov any force exerted by the toasting annaiatus or, as appears in Fig. 3, the pin it stands iai down in the loon it when the toast holder is down, but is still at a considerable distance alcove lower end oi the loop. it is only when the toast holder rises so as to cause the pin. it to ense-.ge with the upper end of the loop, that the holder exerts any induence on the switch; the switch arm heine swung up during the continued rise of the holder, until the switch is wide open as shown in Fig., 5.

At the center of the top of the front end of the toast holder is an upwardly projecting lip or ange i8. Connected to this part is the upper end of a. long arm i9 provided at the lower end with a short arm 2li extending laterally, at right angles thereto. The upper end o! the arm I3 also has a lateral projection'on the same side as the-short arm 20. and the connection between the arm I9 and thev part i8 comprises a pivot pin 2| that extends through this upper projection. In 4 other words, the arm I9, which with the short arm 20, may be termed a hook and tends to hang at a small angle to the vertical. On the front wall of the toast holder is a stop, which may conveniently be a screw 23 which engages with an edge of the arm I9 while the latter is in a vertical position. so that thc weight of the arm tends constantly to hold the arm against this stop,

Rising from the top wall 6 of the base, in front of the toasting structure I, and spaced apart therefrom, is a pedestal 24 which may conveniently bea long at bar bent into the shape of a long, lnarrow U. Extending through the upper end of this pedestal is a shaft 25 on the outer end of which is xed the disk 26 of a dialing device. On the inner end of the shaft, between the pedestal and the toast holder, is a large metal plate 21 which is shown as being a half-disk. On the half-disk is a pin 28 which, when the toast holder is up and all of the other parts f the apparatus are in the positions they normally occupy when the toast holder is in its raised position,

lies directly over the short arm 20 of the swing' holder is now locked in its downward position' the half-disk may continue moving in the same direction as that which it traveled in forcing the toast holder down. In the arrangement shown I employ the half-disk itself for the purpose of holding the toast holder down.n

It will be seen that at the front end of the toast holder there is a lu'g or finger 29 projecting forwardly from the bottom of the holder. This lug or finger extends past the plane of the half-disk 21. Normally when the parts are all in positions ready to start, the lug or finger 2a lies just below the shaft 25 and beside the straight edge of the half-disk as shown in Fig. 5. Consequently, the half-disk may turn in the clockwise direction without interference on the part of the lug or projection and, as such movement proceeds, the toast holder and the' lug or linger 2S move downwardly together. Before the straight edge of the half-disk can strike the lug the latter is down far enough to permit the curved edge of the half-disk to ride over the same, as shown in Fig. 3. The pin 28 can then move on, away from the hook, because the curved edge of the half-disk overlies the lug 29 and thuslocks the toast holder down.

The toast holder cannot move up again until after the halfdisk has completed a full turn from the starting point indicated in Fig, thereby causing the trailing end of the curved periphery of the half-disk to be carried past the lug 29:;

If means are provided automatically to con--v tinue the turning movement of the half-disk at a given constant speed to complete the revolution initiated manually, any desired length of toasting time, within limits, may be attained by varying the angle through which the half-disk is turned manually.

The manual operating means consists of the .disk 2B xed on the outer end of the shaft 25; this disk having therein a series of finger holes 30 spaced apart angularly of the disk. Beside this disk is a stationary stop 3|. When a user places a finger in any one of the holes 30 and turns the disk until the finger is arrested by the stop 3|, the half-disk is turned. at least far enough to cause the curved edge thereof to move upon the lug 29, locking the toast holder down, so that the finger may be withdrawn. In the arrangement shown, the disk may be turned through almost a complete revolution, so that the automatic turning mechanism need only turn the setting unit through a small angle to end the toasting period; or, the manual setting may invvolve the turning of the disk through an angle of about one hundred and eighty degrees at the other limit of the range of adjustments. In this way short, long or intermediate toasting periods may be attained,

In order to effect the automatic movements of the shaft 25 and disk and half-disk thereon, I provide an electromagnetic actuator that drives the shaft step by step at a predetermined uniform rate. The immediate driving means consist of ya ratchet wheel 33 fixed on the shaft in front of the'half-disk, together with a paul 34 carried by a rocker arm 35, loose on the shaft. One end of the rocker arm normally rests on a stationary pin 36 projecting rearwardly from the pedestal 24. A tension spring 31 is connected at its ends to the other end ofthe rocker arm and to a bracket 38 on the toasting structure I; this spring being under sufficient initial tension to hold the rocker arm against the pin 36. A heavy Wire' or light rod 39 is connected at its upper end to the same end of the rocker arm as that to which the spring 31 is attached. The lower end `of the wire or rod 39 is secured to the plunger 40 of an electromagnet 4I.' The spring 31 is sulciently strong to holdythe plunger 40 up when the electromagnet is deenergized. Upon energization of the magnet, the rocker arm is turned in the clockwise direction, as viewed f in Fig. 5, turning the shaft 25 through a predetermined small angle. Upon deenergization of the electromagnet, the parts of the driving mechanism return to the condition illustrated in Fig. 5, the pawl riding over one or more teeth on the ratchet Wheel.

'Ihe supply of current to the electromagnet is controlled by a device which, when energized. opens and closes a controlling switch, according to a definite timing. This device may conveniently be of the type conventionallyillustrated at 43, which is commonly used for turning on and off the current for the lights of an electric sign to produce a flashing effect. This device is mounted onthe bottom Wall 44 oi' the base member of the toaster, across a large opening 45 which permits free circulation of air around and past the device. Current is supplied to the interruptor 43 through the main switch comprising the stationary contacts 5 and the movablecontacts 1. Therefore, as soon as the dial is turned to move the toast holder do'wn to predetermine the toasting periodl Ythe interrupter will be energized unless ,some

mcansbe provided to prevent it. That is, starting with the toaster in a cold state, the first piece of toast would not be toasted to the same degree as would later pieces, after the toasterbecame well heated, I have,`therefore, placed in the control circuit a switch 46 that remains open, while the toaster is cold, until it has been heated to a predetermined temperature. This switch comprisesv a stationary arm 49 carrying la. contact piece 50, together with a movable arm 5 I, carrying a contact piece 53, for engagement with the contact piece 50. These two switch members, together with a bimetallic bar 54, are mountedon a part of the toasting structure I, with the bimetallic element on the inner side. The bimetallic element has at its free end a lug $5 vthat projects laterally into contact with one side o! the switch arm 5|, near the free end of the latter. Normally, when the toaster is cold, the switch arm 5I is forced outwardly to separate the contacts 50 and 53 from each other. When the toaster heats up, the bimetallic element becomes deformed in a manner to carry the lug thereon away from the switch arm 5l; and this switch arm being resilient, it carries, its contact` piece into engagement with the cooperating contact piece and closes the circuit.

The various circuits and switches are shown in the wiring diagram, Fig. 7. Referring to this diagram, 5B and 51 are the supply lines'; 58 indicates the heating coils of the toaster; 58 is a coil surrounding and adapted to heat a bimetallic element 80; and 6l is a switch adapted to short circuit the coil 59, which is normally in series with the coil of the electromagnet 4l, when the bimetallic element becomes hot. It will be seen that all circuits'areopen until the toast holder is pressed down andthe main switch, comprising contacts 5 and 1, is closed. Upon the closing of the main switch, current ilows through the heating coils oi the toaster and the toaster begins to heat up if it was cold at the start. However, no current flows through the coils di and 'until. the compensating switch '4d has been closed, namely after the toaster becomes hot. After the toaster becomes properly heated, the compensating switch closes and current begins to now through the coils 59 and tl; such current being sufdcient to heat the bimetallic element et but not sti-ong enough to cause the plunger lill to be pulled down and operate the patri. and ratchet device. When the bimetallic element @il becomes located to a predetermined temperature, it closes the switch iii, short circuiting the coil 519 and thereby causing an increase in the current flowing through the coil di sufncient to drive the ratchet wheel through one step. soon as current stops flowing through the coil it and the birnetallio element begin to cool and the switch iii is again opened when the temperature of the bimetallic element drops to a predeterminati value. The process oi closing and then opening the switch proceeds automatically until the halodisk has been turned around to the nor ,mal idle position and the main switch again opens.

It will be seen that the user oi a toaster equipped with my improved timing device need. only place the bread in the holder, place a dieser in that hole in the dial corresponding to the type of toasting desired, turn the dial until that ringer strikes the stop il, and then direct his attention to other things, in order to be certain that the bread will be properly toasted to the extent de` sired. This is as true with respect to the ilrst piece of bread, starting with a 'cold toaster, as with subsequent pieces, after the toaster has become hot, by reason oi' the presence ci the compensating switch that provides a longer toasting period when the toaster is cold than when it is hot; f f

While I have illustrated and described with particularity only a single preferred form of my invention, I- do not desire to be limited, to the exact structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend to cover al1 forms and arrangements which come within the denitions of my invention constituting the appended claims.

I claimt g 1. The. combination with a toasting apparatus' including a toast holder movable from a toasting position to a delivery position, of a rotatable manually operable dial, means operated by the dial to shift the holder from the delivery position to, the toasting position during a predetermined angular movement in one direction by the dial, further means operated bythe dial for locking the holder in its toasting position during a further movement oi the dial in the same direction through a further predetermined angle and then to release it, and means automatically to restore the holder to its delivery position upon being unlocked.

2. The combination with a toasting apparatus including a toast holder movable from a toasting position to a delivery position, of a rotatable manually operable dial, means operated by the dial to shift the holder from the delivery position to the toasting position during manual operation of the dial through a predetermined angle in one direction, further means operated by the dial to cause the holder to be locked in its toasting position during a further movement oi the dial. in the same direction and to be unlocked when tthe total movement of the dial approximates a complete revolution, and means to restore the holder to its delivery position upon being unlocked.

3. The combination with a toasting apparatus including a toast holder movable irom a toasting position to a delivery position, of a rotatable dial, means operated by the dial to shift the holder from the delivery,T position to the toasting posi tion during manual operation of the dial through a predetermined angle in one direction, further means operated by the dial to cause the holder to be locked in its toasting position during e, :further movement of the dial in the same direction and to be unioolred when the total movement oi the dial approximates o. complete revolution, :means automatically to complete the revolution of the dial started by manual operation thereof?, means to restore' the holder to its delivery poel tion upon beine; unl cited.

i. The combination with toasting' apparatus including a toast holder movable from a toasting position to a delivery position, oi a rotatable dial, means operated by the dial to shift the holder from the delivery position to the toasting position when the dial is turned manually through a predetermined ,angle in one direction, indexing means adjacent to the dial to enable the user to turn the dial through said ansie or through any one of a plurality ci progressively greater predetermined angles, means operated by the dial to cause the holder to be locitzeol in its toasting position during a movement o2? the dial in the same direction beyond the hrsomentioned predetermined angle and to be unlocked when the total movement oi the dial approximates a cornplete revolution, means automatically to complete the revolution of the dial started by the manual operation thereof, and means to restore the holder to its delivery position upon being unlocked.

5. The combination with a toasting apparatus including a toast holder movable from a toasting position to a delivery position, a rotatable arc-shaped element, means operated by said element to cause the holder to move from the delivery position `to the toasting position when said element is turned through a predetermined l angle in one direction, and means engaging with in the toasting position during a' iurthe'r turning movement of said element to complete a revolution and then release it. y y

6. The combination with a toasting apparatus including a toast holder movable from a toasting position to a delivery position, a rotatable arcshaped element, means movable with said element to cause the holder to move from the delivery position to the toasting position when said element is turned manually through a predetermined angle in one direction, additional means movable with said element to lock the holder in the toasting position during a further turning movement of said element to complete a revolution and then release it, and means automatically to complete a revolution of said elementv begun by manual operation thereof.

7. The combination with a toasting apparatus including a toast holder movable from a toasting position to a delivery position, a rotatable arc-shaped element, means movable with said element to cause the holder tofmove from the delivery position to the toasting position when said element is turned manually through a predetermined angle in one direction. additional means movable with said element to lock the holder in the toasting position during a further turning movement of said element and then release it, means automatically to complete a revolution of said element begun by manual operation thereof, and spring means to move the holder into its delivery position upon being released by the arc-shaped element. 8. AThe -combination with a toasting apparatus including a toast holder movable from a toasting position to a delivery position, a rotatable i half-disk, means cooperating 'with said half-disk to move the holder into its delivery position upon y being released by the half-disk.

9. The combination with a toaster having a vertically movable toast holder, of a long hook hung from the. middle of the top of the holder at one end for swinging movements parallel to said end, an outwardly-projecting lug at the bottom of the holder at the middle of said end, a sector of a disk mounted for rotation about an axis parallel to said end in a plane lying outwardly from said hook and intersecting said lug, and a pin on said sector for engagement with said hook to pull the holder down, the parts being so proportioned that the curved edge of the sector rides on top of said lug and locks the holder down before said pin releases itself from the hook.

10. The combination with a toast holder movable from a toasting position to a delivery position and a switch that is opened when the holder reaches the delivery position and closed when the holder'reaches the toasting position, of a ro tatable dial, means to cause the dial to shift the holder from the delivery position to the toasting position during manual operation of the dial through a predetermined angle in one direction, means to cause the holder to be locked in its toasting position during a further movement of the dial in the same direction and to be unlocked 'when the total movement of the dial approxi-` mates a complete revolution, means, including an electro-magnet, for automatically continuing the turning movements of the dial step by step, after the switch has been closed, to complete a revolution of the dial, and means to restore the holder to its delivery position upon being unlocked.

`11. An apparatus such as described in claim l0, having associated therewith an automatic interruptor for controlling the energization of the electromagnet. l

12. An apparatus such as described in claim 10, in which there is also included a heat responsive element that is alternately heated and cooled upon the closing of the switch, Said elcment controlling the energization of thel electromagnet.

AGUST C. PURPURA. 

